What should have been a relaxing vacation has turned into a nightmare for two American citizens, who have now spent 21 days behind bars in Mexico—all because of a timeshare dispute.
Lindsey Lemke’s parents had a membership with Palace Resorts, a Florida-based company that owns multiple resorts and timeshares in Mexico. According to Lemke, the company breached the contract, prompting her parents to hire a lawyer to resolve the issue. The dispute involved approximately $117,000, but it had supposedly been settled over a year ago.
Despite believing the issue was resolved, Lemke’s parents were arrested immediately upon landing in Cancun. Mexican customs officials claimed they had outstanding charges of criminal fraud and sent them straight to jail, where they’ve remained ever since.
“My mom is terrified and confused. She cries a lot. She’s unaware of the amount of corruption in this case,” Lemke said. “She’s upset because she can’t see or speak to her husband about anything. She’s just there.”
Her stepfather, 60-year-old Paul Akeo, is a 21-year Navy veteran and currently works for the Michigan State Police.
Lemke, a former two-time national champion gymnast at Michigan State University and a survivor of Dr. Larry Nassar, is now fighting for her parents’ release.
“Our country is allowing two U.S. citizens to sit in prison over a timeshare dispute in Mexico,” she said.
“We need help from our government,” she said. “We need them to realize that there are two innocent Americans being held hostage in a Mexican prison over a timeshare dispute and by them not acting and doing anything about it, they are allowing Mexico to do that.”
At their most recent hearing, a Mexican court granted Palace Resorts another six months to gather evidence—meaning Lemke’s parents could be imprisoned for at least six more months before even getting a trial date.
With no resolution in sight, their family is desperately seeking help from U.S. officials to bring them home.
